A FUR coat worn by a stewardess in the first class area of the doomed Titanic was sold for a world record price at an auction in Devizes.

The coat worn by Mabel Bennett as she escaped the sinking ship was sold for £180,000 by Henry Aldridge and Son on Saturday making it the highest price ever for an item belonging to a crew member and the third highest for any piece of Titanic memorabilia.

Andrew Aldridge said: "The coat attracted phenomenal interest prior to the sale with a packed bank of telephone lines booked for the auction from buyers in the UK, USA and mainland Europe, several minutes of intense bidding resulted with the coat selling to a UK collector."

But he said there was something for everyone at the auction with some items selling for £50.

Mr Aldridge said: "The sale was covered by the worlds media including BBC, Fox News and CBS in the United States with buyers from across the globe participating either online, on the telephone or in the room.

But the fur coat was one of the most visual lots to have come to market it recent years. Mabel’s previous ship was the Olympic, she signed onto Titanic on April 6th and was saved in Lifeboat No. 5 alongside the Dodge family and Third Officer Herbert Pitman. Interestingly, Bennett's brother-in-law and nephew, Alfred Crawford and Leonard James Hoare, respectively, served on board Titanic with her. Her nephew was lost in the sinking while her brother-in-law was saved."